Management - beyond the day - Peter Drucker Society of Austria

Good management has nothing to do with short-term successes and the management elixirs
that allegedly led to them. This seemingly banal insight results from a long-term, historical perspective
like Drucker’s. It cannot be achieved by judgments based on quarterly results, but rather
emerges from a deeply rooted understanding of the durable, unclouded by short-term spectacular
success stories. Not the momentary “how” is important, but rather the seminal “why.” Past
stock market euphoria of the years 1999/2000 and the sense of doom that prevailed after September
11, 2001 appear in a new light when seen from Drucker’s perspective. Only a historical
yardstick and an understanding of the “why” help us recognize what leads companies to success
over the long-term.
Peter Drucker teaches us from history. He holds up a historical mirror which provides both a new
perspective and better understanding of the future. He comes full circle with Søren Kierkegaard,
whom Drucker admires and who said: “Life can only be understood backwards. But then one
forgets the other principle: that it must be lived forwards.” For that reason, Peter Drucker - by
orienting himself on the past - is a brilliant intellectual guide into the future.
Change, Innovation, and not Revolution
In Drucker’s view, fundamental management principles change very little over time. But this does
not mean that a manager’s central challenge is the organization of routine processes and the
maintenance of stability. On the contrary, a manager’s primary challenge is to gain an advantage
from change, instability, and new developments. An intelligent handling of unexpected events
separates the wheat from the chaff. Change seldom takes the form of revolution, however.
Revolutions are an effective means to destroy traditional systems. They do not serve as a
blueprint for new ones. Even Schumpeter does not speak of “destruction,” but rather of “creative
destruction.” Creation is the pillar of good management.
“Revolution” seldom appears in Peter Drucker’s work or discussions. This makes him a true
exception among most writers of modern management literature. Only one of his more than 30
books has a title with the word revolution (The Pension Fund Revolution). Far more typical of
Drucker’s thought are titles like “Time of Great Change,” “Changing World,” “Turbulent Times,”
“Innovation,“ and “New Realities.” They suggest the world is a process of constant shifts and
never ending change – a seemingly Asian view, which appeals to Drucker anyway. Heraclitus’
“panta rhei” also comes to mind. Drucker does not consider himself a prophet or mystic. He
takes his views from an intelligent interpretation of signals at hand.
Population dynamics - a crucial issue for society and business - has been sending exactly such
signals for a long time. Drucker contends that we only need to read and interpret them. This approach
is also untypical of current-day management authors, who use past successes to revitalize
their popularity or make fantastical forecasts (like tourism to the moon) which strike a note
with a broad, eager readership. Drucker remains down to earth and interprets the tracks of time.
As no other author, he has repeatedly proven he can anticipate future developments with sheer
unbelievable methodology and precision. When did Drucker identify the “knowledge worker” phenomenon
as the work trend of the future That was already in 1966. Today, nearly all of us are
knowledge workers. Even a spin-doctor like Tom Peters admits that “Drucker said it all”. Professor
Fredmund Malik from the St. Gallen Management School described him as the “master of
fundamental thought”.
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